DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Description): The purpose of this training program is to provide in-depth predoctoral and postdoctoral training in tumor immunology. The program will train young scientists in the intellectual and practical principles underlying modern molecular and cellular tumor immunology with the specific goals of characterizing the immune responses to cancer, regulating these immune responses, and utilizing the products of such responses in the diagnosis, management and treatment of cancer. The faculty of the Tumor Immunology Training Program have been selected across traditional departmental boundaries based on the quality of their research programs and how they could contribute to the goals of the program. The shared resources and educational programs of the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center substantially enhance the environment for training. Predoctoral program trainees are admitted through applications to the Department of Immunology. The predoctoral training program consists of formal course work and library research encompassing basic immunology, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and tumor immunology. Throughout their training, the predoctoral students must actively participate in formal and work-in-progress seminars, laboratory group meetings and national/international meetings. Following completion of the qualifying examination for the Ph.D., the trainees conduct independent research under direct supervision of a faculty mentor and with the help of a faculty advisory committee. The advisory committee also conducts the final dissertation defense for the Ph.D. degree. The postdoctoral program admits trainees either through application to the postdoctoral advisory committee or directly to a faculty member and his/her recommendation to the program. The postdoctoral program provides advanced training for two years for outstanding individuals with the M.D. or Ph.D. degree who wish to work with individual program faculty members. Postdoctoral trainees will be encouraged to take formal course work when appropriate and will actively participate in program seminar series and laboratory group meeting. However, postdoctoral trainees will be expected to dedicate themselves to laboratory research for the vast majority of their time. The training program for both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows stresses (1) analysis and interpretation of the primary literature, (2) experimental design and strategy, (3) analysis and interpretation of experimental data, and (4) oral and written presentation of the trainees findings. The Tumor Immunology Training Program is an integral part of the research and educational missions of the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center.